Yankees Atop the 2018 World Series Odds

The New York Yankees made headlines last week by pulling the trigger on a deal to acquire reigning home run king Giancarlo Stanton from the Florida Marlins, a move that has vaulted them to the top of the 2018 World Series odds as +500 favorites.

The Yankees entered the offseason as a solid +1100 World Series bet following their strongest campaign in five years, recording 91 wins to claim second place in the AL East standings and a top wild card berth.

Stanton joins a Yankees lineup already stacked with heavy hitters, including rookie of the year outfielder Aaron Judge and catcher Gary Sanchez, who combined to go yard on 85 occasions in 2017, powering the squad to a Major League-leading 241 home runs.

The Los Angeles Angels were last week’s other big mover on the World Series odds. Following a third straight losing season, the Angels took steps to bolster both their starting pitching and offense by landing highly coveted Japanese star Shohei Ohtani.

The move has boosted the Angels from +5000 to +2500 on the World Series odds. However, expectations remain fluid after Ohtani, who won 10 games and hit 22 home runs for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in 2016, reportedly suffered a serious elbow injury shortly after coming to terms with the Angels.

Astros, Dodgers Behind Yankees on Futures

Both the World Series champion Houston Astros and the NL champion Los Angeles Dodgers closely trail the Yankees, each with +600 odds, followed by the Cleveland Indians at +750, while the Washington Nationals sit alongside the Boston Red Sox at +1000.

The Astros claimed the first championship victory in franchise history by knocking off the Dodgers in a thrilling seven-game series, and opened the offseason as +500 World Series favorites. With a lineup featuring AL MVP and three-time batting champion Jose Altuve and World Series MVP slugger George Springer, the Astros won 101 games in 2017 after posting just 51 wins in 2013.

Fueled by an epic 52-9 midsummer run, the Dodgers sat atop the World Series odds for most of the season before finishing the campaign with an MLB-best 104 wins. But Los Angeles failed to tally consecutive wins during its Fall Classic matchup with the Astros, undoing the club’s march towards its first World Series victory since 1988.

Fixtures near the top of the World Series odds for the past three years, the Toronto Blue Jays enter winter pegged at a middling +4000. Further down the odds, the Marlins’ offseason fire sale has dumped them to a distant +10000, just ahead of the Detroit Tigers, who are pegged as distant +15000 underdogs.